


Phasmophobia

by Gina Callen (CALLEN37)



Category: NCIS: Los Angeles
Genre: Gen, Hauntings, Hurt/Comfort, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-28
Updated: 2016-10-30
Packaged: 2018-08-27 13:40:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8403799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CALLEN37/pseuds/Gina%20Callen
Summary: Halloween and Deeks is missing... Or is he? Last seen going into the notorious Linda Vista Hospital the team goes to find him and help him, however, they end up getting caught in a horror story of their own, leaving two to have a reunion and two to deal with the horrors of their past. Will they make it to a better future. (6 chapters all written posting 2 a day till Halloween.)





	1. Chapter 1

He had been in positions in his life where he had been scared. Many in his childhood at the hands of his father, having to shoot his father at eleven and dealing with the aftermath. Almost losing Kensi before they could be married, but this… this was terrifying.

It was midday in Los Angeles, he knew this because the watch on his wrist glowed in the unnatural darkness. It should not be this dark. He would have understood if he had been in a basement or locked in a room, but he was not. He was alone… but at the same time, not alone.

It had, it seemed to him, been days since he had gone to meet a contact, who had insisted on meeting him here. They had made him as a cop, someone in the Los Angeles police department had mentioned to the members of the Varrio Nuevo Estrada, that the blonde surfer they had accepted into their ranks was actually a cop.

Wary of killing a cop and bringing down more interest than they needed on their current project, they had offered Marty an 'in' on their latest deal, insisting it took place in the abandoned Linda Vista Hospital in the center of their district.

Once there, they had made their deal and Marty had been jumped, beaten and shot up with a drug. He had not known what they had shot him up with, but it had made him very susceptible to suggestion. That much he knew; when they told him that it was always night and there was no way out of the building for him, he believed it. Every time he looked out of the windows or pounded on the glass, he could see nothing of the outside world. If that hadn't been scary enough, the voices had started.

"Leave him, let him rot. The bruja has a surprise planned for him." The leader of the gang of men said as he turned and left Deeks curled up on the floor.

* * *

It had been small things at first, Marty had just assumed it was the drug, he had tried to calm himself, then the touching… the door slamming… and a woman. She had just stood there, blood dripping down her face, then she had opened her mouth and screamed.

He had tried to move forward and help her, as her eyes looked into his with fear and horror on her face, then a slow twisted smile graced her features. She vanished. He screamed.

He did not care if anyone heard him. He had never been this scared in his life, not even when he had thought he was going to lose Kensi… Kensi, the love of his life, she was the anchor he clung to. She was alive, he was alive, this was _not_ real.

It was the drug… it was the drug, wasn't it?

He wandered the lonely corridors, noises, making him jump. He wished he had his phone, he made it to the main doors of the building, but they were sealed. Pulling with all his might he could not open them, he beat on the door with his fists until they were sore and bloody, someone outside must be able to hear him.

One final hope, Versey… Versey was his handler; he should know by now that something was wrong, after all it had been two days, according to the date on his watch since he had set foot in the building for the meet. He reached for his phone; it was dead.

He could not understand how it could be dead; it had been fully charged when he had walked into the building and he had switched it off until he needed it. Now he needed it and it was dead!

Then he heard it, a voice more terrifying than anything else he had heard so far, and worse than anything else, the voice was familiar, one he had never wanted to hear again.

" _Maaaaaaarrrrttttttyyyyyy_ …" the disembodied voice laughed at him in the darkness. " _You're mine now boy…."_

The footsteps and the breathing followed him as he ran down a corridor banging on the glass on the windows, trying to break one and escape from what seemed to him to be a never-ending nightmare.

Deeks flinched as he felt hands, he could not see, grabbing his shoulders.

He slid down the wall, a feeling of despair washing over him, "Kensi…" He sighed, dropping his head to his knees and pulling himself into a fetal position.

* * *

"What do you mean he's missing?" Kensi yelled down the phone in the main bullpen at the Mission.

Callen and Sam stopped doing their paperwork, Callen turning his chair to face her, Sam stood up and walked over to her desk.

Callen cocked an eyebrow questioningly at her as she stood up and started pacing.

'Call Eric.' She mouthed as she paced. "Where was he when you last heard from him?" she asked.

She waited as the person on the other end replied.

"It's not good enough; you were his handler… for God's sake Versey, you should have called me earlier… no… look let me see what I can do from this end. I know… I'll call you back." Kensi all but threw her phone onto her desk.

"What's wrong?" Callen asked as Eric and Hetty moved over to join them.

"Deeks is missing." Kensi said, her face full of concern for her partner. "Versey was his handler, he was going to meet with Deeks when his car was T-boned at an intersection, he's just got out of the E.R and he found out that no one took over the meet. He's called around but no one has heard from Deeks in 2 days."

Callen frowned, "He hasn't even called you?" He asked.

Kensi shook her head, "No, but I hadn't expected him to. He's been under as Max for a month. We were going to meet at a bar this weekend, he was gonna pick me up and we were going to…." She trailed off and looked away.

"Did he tell you anything about the assignment?" Sam asked.

Kensi shook her head, "Nothing… Hetty?" She asked as the smaller woman walked into the bullpen.

"I was informed that Mr. Deeks had infiltrated the Varrio Nuevo Estrada. The VNE have been selling arms and trafficking in the area of Boyle Heights. Mr. Deeks under the alias of Max Gentry had an in through a contact. A number of young women have gone missing and he volunteered to use his contact to help bring the head of the gang to justice. As Max he was due to meet with Detective Versey a few days ago, however, as you now know Detective Versey was in a car accident. Unfortunately, Detective Versey has Mr. Deeks down as his next of kin so until Detective Versey was able to tell us about his meeting no one knew he was missing." Hetty told them.

"So what do we know?" Sam asked as the group walked into the operations center to face Hetty, Eric and Nell.

"We know that Detective Deeks had found a supply line of a group selling arms and drugs to the NVE, I have talked to Detective Versey and he was unable to tell anyone else about the meeting as he was involved in an accident, he had expected a call from Detective Deeks, but there has been nothing. Word had filtered down that the NVE knew there was a police officer in their ranks." Hetty looked to her team leader gravely as what she said filtered in.

"Deeks has been made." Callen surmised.

Hetty nodded grimly, "I assume so."

Kensi paled as she gripped the table for support, "He's …." She was unable to put words to the thought that gripped her heart.

"We don't know." Hetty said, looking at the junior agent with sympathy.

"Eric?" Kensi asked as the technical operator started tapping buttons.

His phone was last active in Boyle Heights, I have him on camera going into the abandoned Linda Vista Hospital, but he didn't come out with the others. Eric told them as he and Nell ran through footage and Nell gasped.

"He's alive…." She stopped as a crease crossed her forehead. She leaned forward.

"Miss Jones?" Hetty's voice cut through her concentration.

"Look!" Nell moved what she had been looking at, to the large monitor.

* * *

Deeks' face appeared at a window. There was no glass in the window, but he was frantically trying to open it, placing his face where, had there been glass in the window, it would have pressed against the glass. He cupped his hands around his eyes as if trying to see, but it was daylight.

A few moments later, he was at a door, the door had opened onto a deserted parking lot in the rear. Deeks had stood at the threshold, not moving, his hands pummeling on fresh air, but blood started to appear on his hands.

Suddenly, he had turned back into the building and run out of sight.

The three agents stared at the screen in shock; Deeks had looked terrified.

"We need to get to him." Sam voiced what they had all been thinking.

"Why did he go back inside; he was there… at the door… why did he bang his fists on the air?" Callen asked.

"We need to go now, Hetty." Kensi said, waiting for the go ahead from their boss.

"You're going in there?!" Eric sounded worried, as the Agents had turned and headed for the door.

Kensi whirled back, "What do you know Eric?" She asked

"Linda Vista Hospital… it's haunted."

Sam rolled his eyes, "There's no such things as ghosts Eric." He sighed.

Callen laughed as he turned to follow Sam, "If we find any, we'll say hi from you!" he called out.

Eric looked worried as the team filed out.

Nell looked over at him, "Ghosts? Really Eric!"

"You don't believe in them?" Eric asked, awed.

"Until they can be proved scientifically I don't, but I do believe there is something out there." She capitulated with a small understanding smile.

Eric stared at the still frame that sat on the monitor in ops, and the look of fear on the face of the NCIS Liaison officer.

"I'm not so sure." He said softly, as he turned back to his monitor to do his job, a knot of worry forming in his gut.


	2. Chapter 2

Kensi looked up at the building as the team pulled up to the abandoned hospital.

"Any sighting of him Eric?" She asked as she climbed out of her car to join Callen and Sam on the sidewalk.

"No, nothing." Eric replied.

Kensi looked at the others, "You ready?" She asked, pulling on her tactical vest and pulling her sidearm.

Callen looked at the building, "Eric, you got a thermal on the building?" He asked. "How many are we dealing with?"

Unseen in Ops; Eric nodded as he typed on his keyboard. "I have, the building is empty, except for one heat source on the third floor." He informed them. "He's not moving, but he's not dead."

Kensi took her vest off; she figured if he was on his own, she would not need it.

"Well, let's go find him." Callen ordered. "Eric get the paramedics on standby in case he's injured."

"Will do… and be careful." Eric warned.

"Careful, the building is empty isn't it?" Callen replied.

"Yeah, but Callen, it's Halloween." Eric breathed.

Callen turned, looking at a few early houses on the block with decorations outside.

"No kidding?" Callen replied, the irony prevalent in his voice, "Never held with it myself, but we are here for Deeks and I don't think he wants us dressed up, or that there will be any candy involved."

He turned and caught up with the others at the door.

Sam smirked, "Should we knock and yell trick or treat?" He asked.

Callen rolled his eyes and sighed, opening the main door and making sure the corridor was clear.

"Let's go get Deeks." He ordered and walked down the hallway, Sam and Kensi following up behind grinned at each other for a second.

"What?" Callen asked as he looked at his partner.

Sam's grin widened, "You don't get the irony?" He joked. "A creepy building on Halloween. I'd have loved to do this as a kid, wouldn't you?"

Callen shook his head, pushing a dark thought away.

"Come on G," Sam smirked. "I could see you, dressed as a Mummy, wrapped in bandages… trick or treat?"

"Come on." Callen growled, moving closer to where Deeks was.

"You'd have been cute; you have to have gone at least once?"

"Nope." Callen checked the open doors as they walked down the hallway.

* * *

_**"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"** _

Deeks' scream echoed down the hallway, followed by a deep laugh.

The team closed ranks.

"Eric, I thought you said we were alone!" Callen said as they quickened their pace. "Eric?"

All three of them jumped as a loud burst of static blasted through the earwig.

" _LEAVE…."_ A voice hissed over the com.

"Eric?" Callen stopped and took the communication unit out of his ear. He wanted to stomp on it, but knowing that Hetty would rip him a new one and make him pay for it in more ways than one, he switched it off and put it in his pocket.

"Com's are down." He said to the others.

"So we're blind?" Kensi asked as they moved towards the direction Deeks' scream had emanated from.

" _You will be…."_ A disembodied voice replied.

Sam stopped dead and raised his weapon, "What the hell?" He snarled as he looked around.

"What was that?" Kensi asked.

Callen shrugged, "Just the wind, come on, we need to find Deeks."

"That wasn't the wind G." Sam argued as he looked around for the source of the voice.

"Come on Sam!" Callen exclaimed, "Don't do this, ghosts aren't real, but Deeks is, now let's go find him."

He set his shoulders and walked down the hallway.

" _DEEKS!_ " he called hoping for a reply, but there was nothing.

A piece of plaster fell from the ceiling as Kensi was about to step under it, Sam's arm pulled her out of harm's way.

"Careful Kens." He checked to see if she had been hurt. "This place is falling apart."

A door slammed down the hallway and they moved faster towards the sound.

Then there were two smaller bangs in opposite directions.

"Split up," Callen hissed. "We'll meet further down."

The others nodded and split up.

* * *

Kensi went to the left, "Deeks…!" she called, hoping she would find him.

"Deeks is dead… come, join us." A voice whispered in her ear.

"What the hell!" she jumped and whirled around, her gun at the ready.

Quickly she scanned the room; there was no one there.

"Sam?" she called trying to hide the shake in her voice.

"Not Sam… not Sam… not Sam…" The voice repeated, getting louder and louder until she had to cover her ears. She dropped the gun and placed her hands over her ears crouching trying to block out the noise.

"ENOUGH!" A louder, more familiar voice cut above the others.

In shock, Kensi let her hands fall from her ears, as she opened her eyes and stared at a pair of familiar looking boots.

"Daddy?" she whispered.

She looked up at a pair of kind brown eyes and a comforting smile.

"Hey baby girl." He smiled at her.

She moved back, "No… you're dead!"

The spirit of Donald Blye looked at Kensi. "I am, but I'm not here to hurt you."

Tentatively, Kensi reached out her hand, but the apparition stepped back, "We cannot touch, but I am here to protect you from The Others."

"The Others?" she asked, picking up her service weapon and holstering it in the back of her pants.

"This is a vortex, a place of spiritual energy." The apparition told her. "Much of it bad, some good. Your man needs help. He needs you to save him, as will another of your group."

"My…" Kensi blushed.

"He's a good man." Donald said as he headed to the doorway, "Don't judge him by his lack of words; his heart belongs to you."

Kensi nodded as she followed him, feeling braver and safer than she had a while ago.

* * *

Callen took the hallway straight ahead as Sam took the right.

There was an open alcove, the door long since rotted away and a set of stairs leading down and to the right, the hallway was dark. Callen chuckled to himself darkly, "Down to Hell." He murmured.

"You can do it G-Force." The voice sounded close by, but Callen shook it off. It was not a ghost, it was a memory.

Halfway down the stairs, he felt a hand on his back and a shove, grasping the rail he managed to stop himself from falling.

The stairwell grew darker as Callen hit a landing, and turned to see who had pushed him.

There was a loud bang, as the door he had just walked through slammed shut.

It took a second for him to realize that there had never been a door there.

"What?" he looked up, and a large black shadow figure loomed down over him.

"Federal Agent!" he yelled, raising his gun and mentally cursing Eric for making a mistake.

"You boy, are not a federal agent." The shadow said. "You are a foster brat. You don't have the brains to be anything other than trash boy."

The figure coalesced into a face Callen had not seen in years, and despite his assertions that ghosts did not exist, he knew this man was dead and he found himself stepping back away and cowering.

"You're…."

"Dead?" The man gave a nasty leer. "Yeah, and soon you will be, you got away from me once boy; this time there's no one to save you."

Callen raised his gun and fired, surprised that the sound seemed muted as the walls felt like they were closing in on him.

The figure moved closer, "I have been waiting to get my hands on you, boy."

"No… Ma... Malone?" Callen could not believe what he was seeing; Craig Malone had been dead for fifteen years. He had died in jail after the murder of Jason Dawson, a foster child in his care, the boy who had died saving the life of an eight-year-old G. Callen."

Malone grinned, "You're on my turf now boy."

Callen stood as the man walked up to him, "You're just a figment of my imagination."

Malone leered at him, "Yeah…" his fist clenched and punched Callen in the face.

Callen fell back in shock, "No…" He fought back, swinging every blow missing, going through the specter facing him.

"Still, as feeble as ever boy." Malone snarled. "You heard that friend of yours scream?

This place takes you and keeps you; you're never getting out of here."

Callen screamed as a large scratch appeared across his chest.

"SAM!" He called, not caring how he sounded.

" _ **SAAAAMMMMMY!**_ " Malone mimicked mockingly. "Save me Sammy! Save me Jason…"

He hit Callen repeatedly, until he was curled in the corner of the stairwell.

"Let Sam come," Malone scoffed. "I'll deal with him the same as I did Jason."

Callen shook his head, "No… no… not again!" he tried defending himself, again his blows missing his target. "It's not real, you're not real!" He screamed, shaking his head.

Maybe the air was drugged, there were no such things as ghosts.

"No one cares about you, boy. No one has ever cared, no one will save you. You are mine now for eternity… welcome to your hell." Malone laughed as Callen whimpered.


	3. Chapter 3

Sam continued down the hallway, stopping as a shadow crossed his path.

"NCIS… show yourself." He ordered, raising his firearm.

A man in an Air Force uniform stepped out of the shadows. "You gonna shoot me son?" The large man's voice rumbled.

"Colonel?" Sam lowered his gun.

"Samuel." The man smiled.

Sam's gun wavered, "What's going on here?"

"Halloween son."

Sam shook his head, "That's kids' stuff."

Sam saw an old chair and moved over to sit on it, "Who are you?" He did not believe his eyes, even though his knees and his gut were telling him who it was. He needed to sit down before his legs gave way.

"It's me Samuel." The Colonel said. "You've grown a lot."

"Yes, sir." Sam replied, even if this… thing was not really his father, it looked like him and his gut told him he could not disrespect a man in uniform, especially when he had done nothing to deserve his disrespect.

The man crouched down on one knee, a move Sam remembered from his childhood.

"Samuel, I'm proud of the man you've become."

"How are you here?" Sam asked, still not putting away his weapon, his hand shaking slightly.

"Your friend Eric warned you about this place, today… especially today, this place is a vortex, I knew you were coming and took the chance to be here."

"You know about Eric?" Sam asked shocked.

"I'm dead Samuel, not stupid." The Colonel replied.

"Sorry Sir."

The Colonel smiled, "I watch over you all. You, your wife, your son and daughter. I am proud of the man you have become." He said again. "Your friends… you need to be there for them. They will need you."

"Deeks!" Sam jumped to his feet, remembering why he was here.

"Callen… Deeks, they will need you." His father said. "They don't have good spirits around them. They need you and your friend, they need family."

"Callen… he doesn't…"

"Nonsense son." The Colonel snapped, reminding Sam of the times he had answered back to his father as a child. "That boy has been your brother since you learned of his background. We do not recognize family in the same way over here. You consider him your brother, then he is my son. Your brother needs you. Deeks… he will need you as well.

"Although he has his own family to help. Callen is in danger now, follow me." The Colonel requested. "I cannot interact with his demons, but I can guide you to his rescue."

The Colonel walked towards the door and vanished.

"Hurry…" His voice resonated in Sam's ear, and Sam hurried to follow in the direction his father had walked off in.

* * *

_"DEEKS!"_

For a second, Deeks thought he had heard the voices of his team calling out to him.

As he opened his mouth to reply, the large black mass moved over him again.

"Not a sound kid." The voice warned. "One sound out of you and I'll kill them, you fight back and I'll kill her." It growled.

Deeks whimpered, his mind thrust back to his childhood when the same voice had uttered the same threats.

He felt like he had been there for weeks, even though it had in fact been days.

He was black and blue all over, and had not looked this bad since the day he had shot his father. He cowered from the blows he could not see that had never stopped, even when he had passed out from the pain.

He knew who this shape was; he had thought he was safe. However, he did not know if it was a combination of the drugs he had been given and his imagination, or if this was real.

If this was real, then he was without a doubt in Hell.

Every once in a while, through his blackened and bruised eyes, he could make out the face of his father leering at him, smiling at the pain he was in. A large hole was over his heart, a blood stained shirt and the remembered smell of alcohol wafted over him.

"You killed me boy… you think I'd forget that?" The spirit snarled at him.

Deeks shook his head, that was not right. He had never killed his father when he was eleven? Sure, he had shot him, but Gordon Brandel had gone to jail and died in a DUI accident in '94.

"Didn't…" Deeks started, and stopped as he felt hands he could not see cut off his air supply.

His arms flailed, as he tried to pull the unseen hands on his face away from him until he passed out.

The shadow seemed to lose cohesion for a moment, then unseen voices, whispering undecipherable words seemed to cause the shadow to darken. It whirled as if it were a tornado and twisted away, leaving the battered body of the detective on the floor, unconscious but alive.

* * *

The darkness surrounding Callen was suffocating, he fought it as much as he could. He had hated the dark as a child. A few foster parents, especially Malone had taken it upon themselves to try to teach Callen a lesson, and for misbehaving had locked him in a closet or basement. At first he had not minded, after all it was just darkness, then came Malone.

Malone kept rats.

Not the cute pet rats that a child might keep, but wild ones. He had encouraged them in his basement, leaving scraps out for them to eat for just one reason. Punishment.

The basement was empty of everything except a thin mattress and a bucket. All the kids who went through the Malone home and came out the other side passed on the word about the basement.

Callen had heard about it when he was told he was going to stay there, a hushed whisper from a frightened kid the night before. However, he had assumed that it was just another story to frighten him so he would beg to stay at the group home. Especially as the child telling him about the rats in the Malone basement, was the same child who had been bullying him for the past month, stealing his food and putting gum in his hair so he would have to have it cut.

So after waking up with yet another nightmare, his first night in the Malone home and the other boy, Jason, not being able to silence his sobs, the screaming child had been dragged down the stairs and thrown bodily into the basement to 'shut up and behave'.

Instantly Callen had stopped crying, not realizing that that was the last time he would ever cry in front of anyone ever again. It was also the last time he would not fear the dark.

Everyday run of the mill darkness did not scare him. Even up until that day, total pitch blackness had never bothered him, so when he landed on the floor in that basement, he had just wiped his eyes and brushed himself off. Waiting as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw the mattress in the corner and moved to sit on it.

It was not long before the sound started, scratchy scrabbling sounding noises, just outside his vision. The occasional squeak of a mouse, he assumed. It was not the first time he had spent an hour or two locked in someone's basement. The mice were not frightening, they were usually more scared of him and he was not bothered by them.

He curled up into a ball and tried to get some sleep. After all, he was a growing boy and usually slept eight hours a night. Never again.

He had awoken to something scratchy on his face.

Figuring it was one of the other children, he waved his hand away and opened his mouth to tell them to get off. Something smooth, warm, with just a hint of fur fell into his mouth.

He coughed and sat up as whatever it was fell into his lap. Then it moved.

He screamed as he realized that it was too big to be a mouse, and whatever it was had friends, hundreds of friends and they were climbing all over him, mostly trying to get into the pockets of his jeans which he had not taken off before getting into bed that night.

Trying to get to the half-eaten sandwich he had wrapped up and put in there.

He waved his arms around, trying to make them go away, which in turn made more climb over him. He curled himself into a ball and sobbed, praying that someone would come and save him.

What seemed to the child like hours later, the door opened, a light from the kitchen upstairs flooded down and the hideous creatures scuttled back to the darkness.

With wide, terrified eyes, Callen looked up expecting the angry face of Malone. Instead, his blue eyes met the green eyes of the older boy whose room he shared.

Jason looked down at the shivering eight-year-old and beckoned him upstairs.

"Malone's out, gone to the liquor store. You can run now if you want." Jason offered.

Callen nodded and ran up the stairs.

Jason packed them both a bag each and made it as far as the stairs as the front door swung open. Both boys rooted to the spot in fear.

"WHO LET _HIM_ OUT!" Malone roared as he saw the young child clinging to the hand of his older savior.

Jason pushed Callen behind him, "When it's safe, run." He hissed as he squared up to their foster father.

Malone grabbed the teenager by his throat and slammed him up against the wall, fear making Callen move back up the stairs.

The drunken man punched the boy repeatedly for minutes that seemed to Callen to be hours, not noting that the older boy had gone limp and all sound having ceased from him.

Eventually, he had thrown the limp body of the teenager to the floor.

Callen had not said a word since Jason had saved him from the basement. He opened his mouth to try to wake up the older boy, but no words came out. He shook him and turned his head towards him, scrambling back his voice a silent scream as Jason's sightless eyes stared at him.

He sat there, holding his knees and staring at the body, not even hearing the sound of the police officers banging on the door after a neighbor had called them. Not acknowledging their words of comfort as they moved to check on the two boys, finding to their horror a dead child and a traumatized one. He sat in the fetal position, holding his knees, not saying a word, not even resting until a doctor at the hospital had sedated him so he could sleep. Even then the terror of what he had endured forced him to fight the sleep so he would not wake up to the rats again.

Now he was back there, back in the basement. A scream of terror ripped from his throat as Malone, unseen and above him gloated reminding him of the rats and his terror of the dark.


	4. Chapter 4

Sam walked down the hallway, determined to find the others, still not entirely sure that the thing he had seen really was the spirit of his father. He was worried; if they had cleared the halls, Callen and Kensi should have been back by now.

Deciding that unless he needed to, he would keep his encounters to himself, so he went in search of his teammates.

"Sam?" Kensi called as she caught up to him, slightly pale and shaking. "We need to find the others."

"You ok?" Sam asked. He had never seen someone look as rattled as she did.

"I…" Kensi shook her head, "No…let's find Deeks and get out of here, where's Callen?"

Sam opened his mouth to answer and closed it again as a loud crash came from under them. "This way…hurry."

The voice came out of nowhere, both Sam and Kensi looked at each other, neither recognizing the woman's voice.

"You heard that…right?" Sam asked.

Kensi nodded and pointed as a door moved open.

"Hurry!" The voice called urgently; they saw a figure, a flash of dark hair. The apparition of a woman turned and threw up her hands as a black mass seemed to overpower her.

" ** _SAVE HIM!_** " The woman screamed as the mass overtook her and the apparition screamed.

The air grew thick and swirled as if they were in the midst of a tornado. An inhuman howl as if two animals were fighting filled the air. Sam grabbed Kensi's hand and pulled her through the tumult. Looking back, Sam stopped for a second, surprised at the sadness and the familiarity in the eyes of the woman whose face was clear for a second. It was the eyes that floored him, her eyes were the exact duplicate of the eyes that belonged to his partner.

"Come on!" Sam yelled over the noise and they ran down the hallway.

Kensi stopped as soon as they got away, "What the hell is going on Sam?" She asked.

"I saw my father Kensi." Sam admitted, turning to her so she could see he was telling the truth. "I think we owe Eric an apology; this place…my father says this place is a vortex and with it being Halloween, the veil is thin. He also said that G and Deeks would need us."

"I…I saw mine as well," Kensi admitted. "This is freaky. He said Deeks would need us."

"We need to find them…" Sam stopped mid-sentence as a scream came from the basement stairwell.

"Was that Callen?" Kensi asked.

Sam shot her a worried look and took off towards the noise.

* * *

Reaching the stairwell, they pulled at the door, it was sealed and Sam pulled on it with all his might.

"Kens, it won't budge…help me!" Sam nearly begged as he pulled at the door.

Kensi moved and pulled with him.

There was a flash of bright light and the door opened.

Callen could not take anymore.

He was defending himself from the blows he could not see, hearing and feeling the scurrying of rats all over him. He could not remember how old he was, his mind reminding himself that this was a nightmare and not real, then another blow, a voice, a reminder that all he thought was true was actually a lie and he was still eight years old, in Malone's basement and Sam was a dream he had made up.

He curled into a ball and let tears he had held in fall, hoping that Malone could not see him.

"Leave him alone." Jason's voice cut through his terror. "Enough Malone."

A bright light burst through the darkness.

"Jay?" Callen was surprised how old his voice sounded.

Jason smiled, his glowing light seeming to emanate from him rather than behind him.

"It's ok G-force, help's coming, wait till I say then run for it." Jason smiled at him and seemed to disappear, a blast of bright light dispelling the darkness.

"No…," Callen did not want to run, he did not want to stop and look in the dead eyes of his foster brother again.

"G!"

Callen looked around, trying to focus on the voice.

"Jason?" He called, a large hand reached through the light and grabbed his arm.

"NO!" Callen yelled his fist flying up in defense and meeting the open palm of Sam's hand.

"G! It's Sam…Sam and Kensi…stop!" Sam yelled as Callen kept hitting out at him.

Callen's eyes were closed and his whole body shaking.

"JAY!" He yelled.

"Callen!" Kensi ran up to him and grabbed his other hand, then moved as Sam pulled him into a hug.

"It's ok brother," Sam said. "I don't know what you saw, but it's over now, you can stop."

Callen's scream echoed off the walls as he tried to move away from the shadowy figure of Malone.

He reached his arms out to defend himself, only to find them held by thick firm hands.

"G…G…it's me."

Callen moved back, favoring his now broken ribs. "No…please…let him go…"

Callen could see the body of Jason sprawled out at his feet. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get him killed."

Sam looked around, he was unable to see what Callen could, but by the sweat and terror on his partner's face he assumed that was not a good thing.

The other two stood, watching as Callen fought his demons.

* * *

A light came behind Sam and Kensi, and they turned to see a glowing being. Sam moved Kensi behind him protectively as the being turned to him.

"It's alright Sam, I mean you both no harm." The voice said. "I wish to show you what is happening so you may help your brother." The glowing being touched the shoulders of the two and the room seemed to melt away.

There was a small, blond haired boy, cowering on the stairs as a teenager stood in front of him protecting him as a large menacing figure of a man stood over them. "Get away from them!" Sam yelled.

"They can't hear you," The being said. "Not yet, this will play out the way it did in the past."

"Who are they?" Kensi asked, worried for the children.

The figure looked sadly over at them, however he said nothing.

The boy stepped back as if he knew what was going to happen next.

There was a sound as the elder Callen's voice echoed around them.

"Please God, no… not again!" He begged.

" _ **WHO LET HIM OUT**_!" Malone roared as he saw the young child clinging to Jason's hand.

Jason pushed Callen behind him, "When it's safe, run." He hissed as he squared up to their foster father.

Malone grabbed the teenager by his throat and slammed him up against the wall, fear making Callen move back up the stairs. The menacing figure was moving over them as the larger boy stood in the way.

"Leave him alone, what you've done to him is wrong," The teenager said bravely. "He's still a kid, the system hasn't broken him completely he still trusts people."

The small boy looked up, his eyes terrified and his body shaking.

"Well, I'll be fixing that," Malone sneered. "Ain't that right boy?"

As the younger boy stepped back behind the teenager, his eyes looked up and saw Sam and Kensi looking at him. For a second there was a small flash of recognition, then fear.

"He sees us!" Kensi exclaimed as she looked at him.

The boy shook harder as he pointed in their direction, still not saying a word.

"What's he pointing at?" Malone snarled. "Ain't nobody coming to help you boy, no one cares, haven't you got that yet?"

* * *

The boy stared hard at Sam and Kensi, his eyes pleading for help.

"It's G!" Sam breathed.

"What?" Kensi looked confused, the child was Callen?

Callen tried fighting back his small fists pummeling the larger man in the back, he was backhanded and he flew into the wall, his eyes closing as he slumped to the ground.

Malone turned to hurt the child again as Jason fought back, his own light going out as Malone killed him.

The being stood, full of light as he watched over the form of the unconscious child, another light joining him.

Malone tried to start on the boy, but something, perhaps it was the beings he couldn't see, stopped him.

Malone sat in the corner as flashing lights came through the window and he knew he was done for.

Callen let out a small mewl of fear as his eyes opened and landed on the body of Jason.

His hands fisted into the teenager's shirt as he tried to shake him awake.

"G…" Sam's voice cut through the fear and Callen looked up, he noticed police officers walking around taking photos and assumed Sam was a policeman.

"G, this isn't real, you need to wake up man. We need you. Deeks needs you." Sam begged.

Callen looked at him confused, he was just a kid. This was real, he knew that. He looked over at Malone, who was being cuffed and led away.

"I'll find you kid, I'll find you and kill you…you'll never escape, you ain't got nobody to protect you, no one cares!" Malone snarled as he wriggled free of the arresting officer and barreled towards the frightened youngster.

"He's lying G." Sam whispered as he knelt down next to the youngster. "A lot of people care about you, you are loved."

The boy looked up at Sam, his eyes full of distrust and shook his head. "No, they don't…"

He looked over at the body on the floor, "Jay did…but not anymore…"

Sam noticed that the other figures in Callen's memory or whatever this was had faded away. "G this is over, you moved on, you found your father and your name. You have a team that cares about you."

The small boy's head whipped up, "I have a name?" He asked, his eyes full of hope.

Sam smiled, "You do…and it's a mouthful, you have friends. You are like a brother to me."

"Really?" The boy's eyes lit up and Kensi moved over to them.

"You're like a big brother to me Callen, you need to stop being afraid and trust us."

"Who are you?" Callen asked them as he felt a familiarity about them.

"I'm Kensi and this is Sam. You're our friend."

The child smiled, "I always wanted a friend."

Slowly the room in the background faded away, leaving Callen alone on the floor in the stairwell.

* * *

He opened his eyes and blinked, "Sam?" He coughed his throat sore.

"You good?" Sam asked.

"What the hell happened?" Callen asked, "I saw…" He shook his head, unwilling to verbalize the memories of what had happened to him.

"We know, we saw," Sam said quietly. "It's this place, it's…haunted."

"There are no such things as ghosts." Callen snapped, hoping they would never talk about it, he looked and still slightly shaking and unnerved he asked. "Where's Deeks, have you got him?"

Kensi shook her head, "Haven't found him yet, we…" She stopped as another earsplitting scream echoed down the hallway.

"Deeks?" Sam wondered.

Deeks had had enough. He was curled in a fetal position while the image of his father, who, to him, seemed so real right down to the nauseating smell of stale booze that hung around him, was screaming insults at him. By his count, he had broken three ribs and possibly his left arm, however, he was uncertain about that, as his arm was still twisted behind him, he had lost the feeling in that arm about an hour ago.

He was crying, unable to help himself. At least he was alone and no one would see it; his father had said he was an ugly crier, he was probably right. However, right now he did not care. He hurt, not only his arms and his ribs, but his heart and his mind.

The insults and barbs that had colored his childhood came back to him full force.

Somewhere inside him was the voice of reason telling him it was not real.

"Deeks!" Kensi's voice cut through everything that was swirling around him, his one ray of light.

To him it actually looked like a light, piercing the darkness. His eyes strayed to it like a child scared of the dark.

He wanted to call out to her, but he felt fingers tightening on his throat.

"Not a word Martin." Brandel's breath wafted up his nostrils and for a second Deeks wondered at the irony of feeling sick on smelling the breath of a dead man.

Deeks gulped as he felt something sharp touch his throat. He looked down all he could see was a black mist and a sliver of something metal and shiny. He gulped and heard a quiet laugh behind him.

"You will never escape from here Martin; you will never escape me. I am always going to be with you. The others may have had angels to protect them, but you don't. No one… Not even God cares about you boy."

Deeks whimpered, but his mind searched for someone who cared. Kensi cared, she loved him, he knew this.

He doubted a lot of things in his life. His place on the team, his ability to be as good as the others; his standing in other people's eyes. The one thing he did not doubt though, was his love for her and her love for him. This thing was immovable and perfect, this was theirs.

He clung to this one piece of hope. She would find him.


	5. Chapter 5

The team moved down the corridor, towards where the earlier screaming had come from.

Every once in awhile, Sam would shoot a look of concern towards Callen, who since rejoining the team had never met his eyes.

"You sure you're ok?" Sam asked.

Callen shook his head, "I'll live, we need to find Deeks. If he's going through half the crap this crazy place put me through…." He trailed off, not wanting to think about what Deeks was experiencing. "Come on." He grit his teeth and moved forward taking point.

They turned down a hallway, the air turned dark and heavy and despite the warmth from the Californian air, Callen shivered and his eyes darted around. He knew that whatever had happened to him back there had not been real. What was real was that Deeks was in danger and needed them now. He stopped for a moment and swallowed down his fear, now was not the time to deal with it.

With a slight shake that Sam noticed, but wisely said nothing about, Callen continued down the hallway.

"Is it me or is it getting darker?" Kensi asked as they moved down the hallway clearing the rooms silently.

Callen looked at his watch and then out of the windows, "It's 3pm, it should be daylight outside, what the hell is going on?"

They reached a door that looked nothing like the others; those had small windows in them, faded blue, flaky paint. This was a dull wooden door, on its own at the end of the hallway.

Callen moved to the side as Sam pushed it open slowly.

As they entered they noticed a small lounge. It looked like the inside of a house.

* * *

The room had dated, slightly torn wallpaper. Imperfections were hidden by poorly hung pictures. The furniture and carpet were threadbare and a TV was on in the corner, no sound but a black and white picture was flickering in the semi darkness. The top of a head could be seen on the only decent piece of furniture in the room.

"Hello?" Callen called as they entered, "Federal Agents."

There was no reaction and Sam grabbed his arm.

"This is like when we were watching what you were going through, they can't see or hear us." Sam informed Callen who blanched at the idea that they had seen everything in his head.

"We need to not be here." Callen snapped, worried about what they would see.

"It may be the only way to rescue Deeks." Sam replied as Kensi looked around the room.

"Where's Deeks?" She asked, not seeing him.

A door opened and a blonde woman walked in, noticing the man in the armchair, turned behind her and shook her head, raising a finger to her lips in warning to whoever was behind her.

She slowly walked around to the person in the chair as a small boy crept inside the house keeping to the shadows.

"Where is he?" The man in the chair growled. "Where were you bitch? You out cheating on me?"

Roberta Deeks stepped back an inch, her eyes automatically moving in warning to the child hugging the shadows of the back wall.

" _MARTIN!_ " Gordon growled.

"Dad…" The boy whispered, moving something behind his back.

"Where ya been boy?" The man stood up, swaying slightly, holding a half empty liquor bottle at his side.

"I told you Gordon, Marty was invited to a birthday party." Roberta said, trying to placate her husband.

Gordon laughed, but the sound did not fill anyone with cheer, "Who'd want that thing at a party?" He grabbed the boy by the hair and pulled him closer, "What ya got behind ya back?" He asked.

Shaking Marty pulled out a slightly deflated balloon and a small toy car, gripping them tightly.

Gordon pulled them out of the boy's hands. "Did ya steal them boy?" He asked, grinning as he burst the balloon in the boy's face making him flinch.

Tears started to fall silently down his face, but he made no sound as his father looked at the car and Martin shook his head.

He took the car and threw it across the room, "You don't need crap like this boy. Parties are for girls and sissies, you a sissy boy?" Gordon pulled Martin till he was standing with his head bowed, eyes cast down as he wriggled slightly. Kensi realized that he was gripping the boy's shoulders so tightly that bruises were starting to form.

"No... No... Sir." Martin replied, "It's just… I was invited, they had cake… and…"

"And?" Gordon growled menacingly.

"And… it's my birthday too." Martin said his voice barely above a whisper.

Gordon growled, "Yeah, I know… you know what that means… a whole 'nother year I have lost my freedom because you were born."

Without a breath, his hand snapped back and hit Deeks around the head. The boy did not move, only swaying slightly with the force of the blow. He had learned that if he fell it got worse.

"So… you think you deserve a cake, presents, being treated special for being born boy?" Gordon growled.

"No, sir." Martin replied, not meeting his eyes.

Gordon smiled slightly at the reply, "Right, now get to your room, I need to talk with ya mama."

Martin ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Within seconds the scene around the others changed, it was a bare room, with a small bed and blanket, a nightstand and a small rug as threadbare as the one in the living room.

* * *

Martin huddled in the corner, his hands over his ears as his father screamed obscenities towards his mother and the dull sounds of fists hitting flesh could be heard.

"Deeks?" Sam moved closer to the boy, hoping to get through to him like he had with Callen.

Martin's eyes moved up and grew wider as they saw the three people in the room.

"... Who?" Marty asked, confused, "Who are you?"

"Deeks it's us." Sam said.

Martin shook his head, "I'm not Deeks, my name is Martin... Can you help my mom?"

Kensi moved Sam away, noting the boy's obvious fear, "We are here to help you Marty."

A small smile crossed his face, "My mama calls me that. I like Marty."

Kensi smiled as she knelt next to him, "You're in kind of a nightmare, you need to wake up now." She told him.

Marty shook his head, "This isn't a nightmare. Nightmares are safe, this is real, please lady… please save my mama." He begged.

Kensi's eyes filled with tears at the child's pleas, unable to help.

A box started to glow under Martin's bed as a loud bang was heard.

The other people in the room forgotten, the child reached out with a shaking hand, pulled the revolver out of the box and loaded it with the bullets sat next to the weapon in the box.

"Marty?" Kensi moved, but the figure of Marty moved right through her like a ghost.

"It's a memory Kensi," Sam reminded her, "We can't do anything."

They followed as Marty walked down the dark hallway to the main room where Roberta was huddled in a corner, her arms over her head as Gordon held a shotgun to her.

"Got two shells left, one for you then one for the boy..." He turned as he heard Martin shuffle in.

"Maybe I should shoot you first boy, then ya mama can watch, always been too soft on you she has." He raised his shotgun and noticed the gun in his son's hand. "You gonna be a man son, you gonna shoot me?!" Gordon started to laugh.

"You need to stop Daddy, you need to leave mama alone." Martin's voice was shaking, as was the rest of him as he aimed the gun like Ray had shown him.

"Why you little…." Gordon pulled back, ready to shoot his son as a loud bang came from the gun in Marty's hand.

Gordon dropped his gun and grabbed his chest, "You shot me? You shot me! Ya gonna die now boy."

Martin dropped the gun and ran as the police kicked down their door.

The scene dissipated, and the team found themselves in the basement, with a body lying battered and bruised, a shadow figure looming over the body.

"See they were there, they didn't save you or your mama." The voice taunted. They didn't want to."

"That's not true!" Kensi argued, "We were not there."

"They didn't care about you boy, they didn't even celebrate your birthday… she went out for dinner with another man rather than spend time with you."

Kensi looked ashamed, then angry. "You don't understand, I love Deeks, he knows that. You know that, don't you Marty!" she called moving towards the figure leaning over her partner.

"Deeks!" The shadows surrounding the figure coalesced and whirled violently, "Deeks! That's not who he is."

The body moved with a groan on the floor as the shadow connected with his torso, "Sniveling little brat, they know who you are really, they don't trust you or want you on the team, you know that don't you?"

Deeks' body shook again, and the others gasped as they heard a small whisper come from the floor, "Yes sir."

"That's not true!" Sam called.

Deeks' eyes opened and he looked sadly at Sam, "Yes, it is." He murmured.

Callen moved and knelt by Deeks' body on the ground, "Let him go," He said to the shadow, "You have no hold over him anymore. He has escaped you, he is more than you. He is our friend and a good cop, a good man. You are nothing." He grabbed Deeks' hand, "Marty, listen to me. I don't know what this is, how this has happened, but he's lying, you are better than that."

Callen watched the shadow, noting that a point of it was connected to a small box on the floor.

"Sam… the box… smash it." He called.

Sam looked around and noting the box in the corner started towards it.

The wind whipped up around him and despite his bulk, he found it hard to get close to the box, which despite the wind was not moving at all.

Kensi moved to go towards the box, and the shadow moved.

"No!" Deeks moaned and moved out of Callen's grasp and headed towards Kensi.

"Deeks, let them stop this!" Callen yelled over the deafening noise swirling around them.

" _ **NO!**_ " Deeks screamed.

He launched himself into the maelstrom, attacking the shadow that had turned towards Kensi, "You're not going to hurt her, you're not going to hurt them, you have no power over me!" He screamed, fighting with the shadow as Sam finally reached the box and smashed it into pieces.

Deeks fell about a foot from where he had been wrestling with the shadow and landed on the floor, as daylight flooded the area and Eric's voice suddenly burst forth in their ears.

* * *

"Guys! Come on… please answer me!" Eric's voice begged.

"We're ok." Sam said, hoping to put Eric's mind at ease.

"Ok?!" Eric's harassed voice came over the com's, "We've been looking for you for eight hours, you vanished on us."

"Mr. Hanna, have you found Detective Deeks?" Hetty's voice cut in.

"We need an ambulance Hetty; Callen and Deeks are both hurt."

"Very well, one is on the way. Did you find out who was holding Mr. Deeks?" She asked.

Sam looked over at Kensi, who was crouched by the battered body of Deeks, her hand gently ghosting over his forehead, moving his hair out of his closed eyes.

"It was more of a what Hetty, I'll talk to you later." Sam promised, hoping she would not push him to tell her until he had figured out what the hell happened to them.

Sam moved over towards Kensi as Deeks opened his eyes, "Is it over? Is he gone?" He asked.

Kensi nodded, "It's over."

Deeks sighed and closed his eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

Opening his eyes later, Deeks could smell the antiseptic and hear the hustle and bustle of a hospital.

For a moment he tensed up, thinking he was back in Linda Vista hospital.

"No…" He breathed his hands fisting the sheets.

Sheets? He was in a bed? Slowly he opened his eyes and looked over at the other person sharing the room with him.

Callen was out cold on his bed, his torso bare with a large gauze patch covering his chest and his ribs taped up. Deeks sat up, noting his own ribs taped and a plaster cast on his left arm.

"Marty?" The door opened and Roberta Deeks stuck her head inside.

"Mama?" Deeks kept his voice low, not wanting to wake his roommate.

"What happened? Hetty called me, she said you'd been hurt by your father? I don't understand, he's dead!" Roberta tried to keep her voice down, but the panic started to overwhelm her.

"Mom, calm down." Deeks reached over with his right hand and patted her arm, "He's dead, it was a ghost."

"There are no such things as ghosts Martin." Roberta said.

Deeks sighed, "Ok, so not a ghost, but whatever it was, it sure felt like Gordon, sounded like Gordon and hurt like him."

Roberta looked stricken and moved to hug her son.

"I'm ok momma, whatever it was in there it was nasty. I know that the leader said a bruja was going to do something."

"A witch?" Roberta asked, after moving away from the home she had shared with Gordon, they had lived in enough places to know that brujas for some people were real.

Deeks nodded, "I didn't believe in it until the weird stuff started. It was awful momma, all the stuff we never talked about. All the stuff he did to us, it was so real." He whispered as Callen stirred.

"Hetty suggested you talk to a counselor." Roberta told him. "Maybe not just about this, but about the stuff we don't talk about. I think it's time you did, it's not healthy Martin to keep all that inside."

"I'm not… Mom… geez" Deeks sighed. "I love you, but honestly, I don't think I can talk about what happened. I can't explain it either. But I know I will be ok. You don't need to worry about me ok?"

"Everyone needs someone to worry about them Martin, that's why you have a mother." Roberta brushed a stray wisp of hair from her son's forehead.

"Where's Kensi?" He asked, noticing she wasn't there.

"That tiny little boss of yours sent her and that hulk with her home, they looked as wrecked as you do son."

Martin smiled at his mother. He liked her description of Hetty and Sam, but he'd never admit to it.

In the other bed, Callen smiled, unnoticed by the pair of them.

It was good that Deeks had someone to care about him, after all the younger man had been through hell.

He winced slightly as he moved, he hoped he would be able to slip out soon. After all Roberta had been with her son for a while, she could not stay much longer could she? After all, how long did parents visit their kids in the hospital for?

* * *

Finally, Roberta left the room supposedly on the hunt for a coffee, although Deeks assumed she was really going out for a cigarette.

Deeks waited until he was sure she would not be coming back in.

"So you gonna say something, or just lie there?" Deeks asked to the quiet room.

Callen waited for a few minutes and finally turned in the direction of the detective.

"What do you want me to say?" Callen asked, noncommittally wincing as he raised himself up to a sitting position.

"How much of the conversation with my mother did you hear?" Deeks asked.

_Too much,_ Callen thought, but did not reply. He thought for a moment and said, "A bruja? Really?"

Deeks nodded, "I saw her a few times while I was working with the group. They all seemed to be slightly afraid of her, she was Lobo's grandmother. Lobo was the group's leader, a crazy son of a bitch who didn't care who he hurt to get what he wanted. I thought I had them fooled, but I was wrong. They took me to the meet at the old Linda Vista hospital, I got jumped, then the whole world turned crazy. Doc said there was some kinda drug in my system, but that doesn't explain everything that happened in there."

Callen shrugged, "Not sure what happened in there, maybe the drug was airborne. I don't believe in ghosts." He failed to add that for him, it was safer not to believe in them. Especially as since Deeks had been asleep earlier Callen had talked to Sam about what he and Kensi had seen and had felt hurt that he hadn't seen his mother or Amy. Although Sam had thought he had seen Clara earlier. After that revelation Callen had clammed up, not saying anything else until Hetty had insisted that Sam and Kensi had gone home to rest.

"You have had something happen too? I mean I know something happened; you're sharing a hospital room with me. But you know I mean… Spooky?" Deeks asked.

Callen shook his head. He had told someone once, when he had thought he had seen a ghost, just after Jason died. They had paraded an assortment of therapists in to see him, he had been poked and prodded with needles as they had run tests on him. There was no way he was revisiting that scenario again voluntarily.

"So what did happen to you?" Deeks asked, noting the bruising and the gauze pad on Callen's chest.

"I took a wrong turn." Callen replied and turned away.

"Is that what they call it now Mr. Callen." Hetty said as she entered the room.

* * *

Deeks smiled as the smaller woman walked over to her team leader.

"The coms recorded everything," Hetty said.

Both Deeks and Callen looked at her in surprise, "Everything?" Callen gulped, fear suddenly coursing through his body.

"It's been interesting listening. I'm not sure how Eric managed to get nothing off the coms for the entire time you were out of communication, but when we reviewed the logs… well, there was some interesting listening." She moved into a chair facing the two men.

Both Deeks and Callen looked uncomfortable at that.

"Who heard it?" Callen asked.

Hetty noted the anger underlying his question, but smiled. "Only myself and Miss Jones and an outside expert."

"Great!" Callen sighed.

"Mr. Callen, Mr. Deeks. What we heard was heartbreaking and very unusual. I assume neither of you will want a copy of what we have."

"What do you have?" Deeks asked. "Did you hear him… I know It was my father… or something that was pretending to be my father anyway."

"I had someone look at it, a person who is very used to listening to EVP's." Hetty told him.

At this, Callen turned his head, "EVP's?" He asked.

"Electronic Voice Phenomena." Hetty explained. "He managed to get voices from the spaces in between where you were both talking. Some are more clear than other parts, but yes, Mr. Deeks I can hear, what I assume to be Gordon Brandel talking."

Hetty moved closer to Callen, "I heard Mr. Malone, I know that you would not want others to hear it, but for the record it needed to be heard." she said quietly.

"It wasn't him. It wasn't real so I don't care who hears it." Callen lied.

"You forget Mr. Callen, I know about Malone and Jason. You were not at fault and despite what you heard, you have a great many people who care about you. Do not bury this, I have asked someone to come and talk to you."

For a moment Callen shot Hetty a dark look. "I'm not talking to Nate." He said shaking his head. Of course last time Nate and Callen had met, Nate had been undercover and had used his relationship with Callen against him. Although Callen had said he had understood, there was no way he was ever talking to Nate as a psychologist again. He understood the necessity of selling a cover, but using his own personal information while Nate had waterboarded him had destroyed the trust that Nate had built with him.

"I know, Jethro Gibbs has suggested someone named Rachel Cranston as an alternative. He informed me that you will talk to her."

Callen smiled slightly, "Yeah, I'll talk to Rach. Did you tell Gibbs… did you tell him..?"

Hetty shook her head, "No, just that you had been captured and hurt and needed someone to trust, to talk to."

Callen sighed in relief, "Thank you."

* * *

There was a knock on the door as Roberta walked back in, "Martin? Is it ok for me to come in?" She asked.

Marty smiled as she entered.

"Sure mom, Did you find some coffee?" He asked.

She smiled and handed him a cup and then turned to Callen, "Hetty told me you prefer tea." She said putting a cup in front of him.

He looked at it in surprise, "Thank you."

He moved to sit up and she grabbed a cushion from behind him.

"What?" He moved away, not sure what she was up to.

"Your pillow is flat; it can't be comfortable." She plumped it up and placed it back, "Do you need anything, another blanket?"

He shot a slightly panicked look towards Hetty, who sat back and smiled.

"I'm fine." Callen replied as he moved, the pillow did feel better, but he was unsure as to Roberta's motives.

"You and your team saved my boy." Roberta said. I'm not sure from what exactly, but I wanted to thank you."

He looked uncomfortable. "You're welcome."

"Well, I will go and file this report for you." Hetty said. "I am told you both will be fit for desk duty in a week. Ms Blye and Mr. Hanna have been told that you need to rest and will be available to pick you both up upon your discharge the day after tomorrow…." Hetty stared pointedly at Callen, "And not a moment before Mr. Callen."

"As if I would." Callen smirked.

Hetty smiled and picked up the folder she had placed on Callen's table, "Cheeky bugger." She commented and headed toward the door.

"Enjoy your rest gentlemen, you seem to be in excellent hands."

* * *

"I like her." Roberta commented as she took some fruit out of a bag and placed it in a bowl in front of her son.

"Mom?" Deeks looked at the fruit, "Really?"

"It's good for you and if you want to get back to helping your team and saving the world, which I still think you would have been safer to do if you had stayed a lawyer, you had better eat some young man." She scolded him.

Callen let out a small chuckle, but hid it.

"Mom… you can go home, I'll be fine." Deeks insisted.

"Nonsense." Roberta fussed around him, "You need me, I'm sure when your friend's family arrive, he'll have the same thing to deal with."

Callen moved to stand up, "I need to…" He pointed to the bathroom and shuffled off, mindful of his injuries.

" _Mom_!" Deeks hissed.

Roberta moved to pull the blankets down on his bed.

"What? I would have thought his family would be here by now?"

"Mama, Callen doesn't have any family, only his team and Hetty. I think he's an orphan." Deeks told her quietly hoping Callen would not hear her.

Roberta looked shocked.

Callen looked at his reflection in the mirror. He looked haggard and he knew it. He hurt emotionally watching Roberta fuss around her son. He wished that he had been able to see his mother, that she could have saved him from Malone. But she hadn't shown, he hadn't seen her and right now, especially after Roberta asking about his family, he missed her.

Looking at his reflection again, he mentally told himself to suck it up. He hadn't needed his mother, any mother for as much of his life as he could remember, he didn't need one now. He was alone, so he would look after himself. He winced as his ribs twinged. OK, he would look after himself after he had found some painkillers and maybe got some sleep.

Callen opened the door and shuffled towards the bed looking hopefully for his painkillers.

"Come on, let's get you into bed." Roberta said, taking his arm and gently leading him to his bed.

Callen looked worriedly at Deeks who shrugged and mouthed sorry at his mother's behavior.

"I'm fine Mrs. Deeks." He argued.

"You saved my boy's life." Roberta reiterated.

He winced as he sat on the bed.

"Are you in pain?" she asked.

"I'm fine." Callen repeated.

Roberta huffed and pulled the sheet over him, adjusting the light blanket to cover him, then she walked to the door.

"Nurse, my boy's need painkillers." she called, "Today would be good…" She added with a hint of a threat.

Deeks looked about as shocked as Callen did.

She walked back in with two white pots containing medication.

"They've added sleeping meds, you will both take them." She ordered.

Deeks, knowing better, took his straight away, Callen glared at the pot, reaching to take just the pain killers.

"I don't think so," Roberta tapped his hand away, "Take them all, doctors orders."

"Don't fight it Callen; Mama Deeks can be very insistent, so much so she makes Hetty look like a pushover." Deeks warned.

With a sigh, Callen took the medication and lay back.

Roberta moved to her son, tucked him in and kissed his forehead.

Callen smiled at the gesture and closed his eyes, thinking it would be nice if he had someone to do something like that for him.

He jumped as he felt a hand on his forehead.

She leaned over and kissed his head, "Sleep well Callen, I will be back to see you both in the morning."

She walked to the door and smiled at both of them as the nurse walked in. "You take good care of both my boys. I will be back first thing tomorrow to see them."

"They are both your sons?" The nurse asked.

Roberta smiled at them both, "They are now." she gave a small wave, "Night boys." she called and left.

"Night Mama." Deeks' voice followed her down the corridor.

Callen lay there for a moment a stunned look on his face, it had been a hell of a day, but it had turned out great, despite all the horrors they had both seen.

He sighed, laying his head back on the plumped up pillow that still slightly smelled of Mrs. Deeks.

"I like your mom." Callen sighed as he drifted off.

Deeks smiled back, "I think she likes you too." He replied and finally entered a dreamless and safe sleep allowing the horrors to drift away.

* * *

Roberta walked to the elevator where she was surprised to see Hetty waiting.

"He needs a mother." Roberta said as she pushed the button.

"Many people have tried." Hetty sighed as the doors opened and they walked inside.

"Well, I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere." Roberta stated as the doors shut on Hetty's smile.

Even after all the horrors they had seen, her team was becoming more and more a family to be proud of.


End file.
